A recent article in The Agenewspaper reported on a new Australia Institute survey claiming that something like 75% of Australians support euthanasia. If we compare that to recent, long running polls claiming upward of 85% support, then there might be some cause for celebration! Perhaps not.

A recent report on the pages of the Melbourne AGE newspaper backs up the concerns expressed by disability group Lives Worth Living to the Tasmanian Parliament over the soon-to-be-debated euthanasia bill.

For the past two decades, euthanasia/assisted-suicide ideologues have worked overtime to conflate palliative care the medical alleviation of pain and other distressing symptoms of serious illness¯with intentionally ending the life of the patient.

Recent news in respect to court proceedings against Mr. David Scott Mathers for the assisted suicide of his partner, Eva Griffith in July 2009, deserve scrutiny; as do comments from Dr. Nitschke and from Michael Duffy in the Sydney Morning Herald.

First it needs to be noted that Mr. Mathers was convicted of manslaughter. The criminal code of NSW was upheld; there was no ‘judicial activism’ in that decision.

The Canadian Government has released its statement to the Canadian Court ahead of its appeal of the Carter judgement that sought to force the government to overturn the longstanding prohibition of Assisted Suicide